Page 325 of Kentrell

Now my skin had a glow… my color seemed to pop… and my face? Brighter. Fuller.

Granted, I was smiling back at myself, which I definitely wasn’t doing yesterday.

Amazing what a difference one day makes.

I took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and crept slowly up the hall, trying to be invisible as I heard Kentrell, Mars, and Ayesha talking amongst themselves.

“Did y’all break anything?” Mars’s voice rang out first.

“Nah,” Kentrell said casually, like nothing in the world could faze him.

I shook my head fast, hoping to cut off the conversation before it went left.

“Are you sure?” Mars kept going. “Because I heard the bed knocking?—”

“Oh…kay!” I picked up my pace, practically jogging into the front room before she could finish that thought.

Kentrell didn’t blink. Still cool. Still stretched out in that accent chair he’d been sitting in yesterday when he first got here. Eyes locked right on me like he didn’t hear anything but my footsteps.

“Zoe!” Ayesha’s voice pitched high, like she was in total shock.

I turned toward her and immediately caught the way her eyes dropped straight to my hand.

“Oh, shit! Wow!” Mars’s voice jumped in right after.

“Are congratulations in order?” she asked, just as Kentrell reached out and pulled me right down into his lap like he couldn’t stand me being on my feet a second longer.

“Yeah,” I beamed, unable to hold it in as he kissed the side of my face, warm and proud.

“So you really wasn’t playing,” Mars said, leaning back into the couch like she needed to take the whole scene in. Her eyes shifted from me to Kentrell and back again. “See… I’m never wrong.” She nodded with so much attitude, I had to laugh.

“My people radar is military-grade sharp,” she added with a snap toward Ayesha.

“You ain’t believe what Zoe said?” Kentrell asked Mars, turning his head just enough for me to see the amused challenge in his eyes.

“Why you think I told her?” I cut in, throwing him a small frown and poking out my lip, feeling just a little offended.

Kentrell’s jaw flexed… his gaze narrowing on me like he was about to give me a whole lecture.

“Unless yo mama was goin’ around telling folks—and she,” he pointed toward Ayesha without missing a beat, “ran off with it.”

“That’s exactly how it happened,” Mars said with zero hesitation, backing me up before I could.

I just folded my arms across my chest, pouting for real this time.

I felt Kentrell shift underneath me, tucking me slightly sideways in his lap, adjusting me so I could face him.

That hard, direct gaze locked on mine.

“This is really crazy,” Mars said, cutting through the moment. “I ain’t never seen Zoe act this way in my life.”

Kentrell turned his head toward her, smirking like he already knew the answer. “She’on be throwing fits with y’all?”

“Hell nah… we’d beat her ass,” Mars said with a snort, sending Ayesha into a fit of laughter.

I fought not to crack, holding my pout like my life depended on it.

“Aw… so my dick got you acting like this… in front of your friends?” Kentrell murmured, low and rough in my ear, making me melt on the spot.

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